Sing a Rebel Song

It’s 1891 and one of the most dramatic events in Australia’s history is taking place in western Queensland: the Shearers’ Strike.

The closest Australia ever came to outright civil war, when workers rebelled against the employment conditions laid down by landowners.

Twelve-year-old Maggie McAllister and her family are caught up in the struggle between unionists, the landowners and the government.

Torchlight protest marches and violent confrontations in the streets, woolsheds and property fired, the arrest of union leaders at gunpoint. Maggie plays a part in no small way herself. But her friends do not see things the same way, and for Maggie, singing a rebel song may have heartbreaking consequences.